Chet Mroz

Join Us at the Future Midstream Automation Summit

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Our own Chet Mroz (General Manager, eSimulation, Inc.) will be facilitating a roundtable discussion on the optimization of the Midstream business at the 2019 Future Midstream Automation Summit on February 19, in Houston, TX.

Discussion topics will include:

  1. Optimization definition and midstream applications
  2. Optimization methods and software used (in maintenance and commercial/business functions)
  3. IIoT, Industrie 4.0, Digitization, Digitalization and Digital Transformation (in operations, engineering, maintenance, business and IT functions)
  4. Experiences with real-time optimization in the Midstream business

In the Energy and Chemical industry, there are many complex optimization decisions to be made due to the vast number of variables that can be controlled and the large quantity of disturbances and constraints. Identifying the true variables and constraints is in itself a deep art. Correlation-based models are used for optimization when accuracy is not as important as feasibility. While LP planning tools do not represent the plant accurately, they have been the planning tool of choice for decades because they make the planning problem easy to formulate and solve; inventory is used to make up for inaccuracies in their conclusions. However, sloppiness in accuracy comes at a cost – the actual optimum solution is likely worth a lot more – yields will be better, energy consumption lower and required inventory holdings will be decreased. Again, rigorous models used for optimization will find the best answer.

Join the roundtable discussion as we discuss which optimization practices should be implemented for the best economic outcome.

More information

ControlSoft Acquires eSimulation, Inc. and DxT3, Inc.

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ControlSoft, Inc. is pleased to announce that we have acquired eSimulation, Inc. and its joint venture partner, DxT3, Inc.

eSimulation, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is a pioneer in the field of midstream natural gas gathering and processing cloud-based software solutions that predict the effects of operational and business performance based on fluctuating market and asset conditions. The solutions also provide prescriptive guidance to optimize profitability under all market and asset conditions. eSimulation’s optimization solutions have been successfully applied to over 50 natural gas processing units since the company’s inception in 2000. eSimulation also provides cloud-based digitalization technology that streamlines upstream and midstream gathering businesses to significantly reduce the effort required to manage these assets.

eSimulation solutions include:

eSimEvaluator® – a business modeling platform that models midstream businesses from the wellhead across gas gathering and compression systems and through to multi-plant super systems to optimize the entire midstream business on a daily basis

eSimOptimizer® – a highly detailed (rigorous), model-based solution to optimize product recoveries versus the energy required to extract natural liquids (NGL’s) at current commodity prices and on a near real-time basis for gas processing plants. The Process Safety and Surveillance module provides additional value by monitoring the gas plant to identify process equipment problems early to avoid safety incidents and possible shutdowns

eSimGathering® – along with its FieldSync mobile application captures wellhead, compression, and gathering field data on a laptop, Android, or iOS device. eSimGathering applications include the Condensate Inventory Management system, Pig Tracking application, Greenhouse Gas Monitoring system, and the Oil and Gas Volume Tracker for loss management

DxT3, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an exclusive licensee and joint venture partner of eSimulation that focuses on developing market channels for eSimulation product offerings within the Appalachian Basin.

Through this acquisition, eSimulation can offer a wider range of value-added solutions to the midstream and upstream industries. For example, ControlSoft’s MANTRA® advanced process control (APC) platform can help stabilize gas plants, condensate stabilizers, and fractionation facilities and enable operators to effectively hit optimization targets. Furthermore, ControlSoft’s INTUNE®+ control loop performance monitoring (CLPM) software will help operators evaluate control health to sustain optimal performance. These solutions complement eSimulation’s in-plant optimization solutions.

“The acquisition of eSimulation and its joint venture partner, DxT3, signifies a major milestone in support of ControlSoft’s optimization business strategy. The eSimulation software platform is a comprehensive, integrated, and easy-to-use suite of solutions for optimizing the performance of gas production, gathering and processing. Adding eSimulation to our business will enable ControlSoft to provide predictive and prescriptive operations and reliability capabilities to further differentiate our offerings, creating additional value for our customers and opening up a new market for ControlSoft in Upstream and Midstream Oil & Gas opportunities,” said Tien-Li Chia, Ph.D., President of ControlSoft.

“eSimulation’s employees are excited to join the ControlSoft team. eSimulation shares ControlSoft’s vision for advanced process control and optimization technologies. We are especially excited about combining our expertise in gas gathering and processing with ControlSoft’s extensive field experience in industrial process control, their patented technologies for advanced process control, and their analysis software. We believe this will result in new and exciting value opportunities for eSimulation’s midstream customers as well as growth opportunities for our employees,” said Mark Roop, eSimulation cofounder.

“In early 2017, the eSimulation and DxT3 joint venture was created with the singular purpose of creating a dynamic platform company for the adoption of web-based digitalization software applications (IIoT- Industrial Internet of Things) within the midstream segment of the Oil and Gas industry. The adoption of these technologies is now accelerating in the Midstream Industry and especially within the Appalachian Basin due to its abundance of natural gas resources in the Marcellus and Utica fields. With this acquisition, ControlSoft, which has been established in the Appalachian region for 30 years with customers in the chemical and manufacturing industries, is now poised to grow its process control and optimization solutions and services by leveraging the new digital transformation technologies to a broader portion of the Chemical and Oil and Gas industries, rapidly developing in the Appalachian basin as well as throughout North America. We look forward to being a catalyst for new growth opportunities within ControlSoft and expanding the breadth of its operations within the upstream and midstream oil and gas markets,” said Chet Mroz, President of DxT3 Inc.

“Our relationship with eSimulation’s Mark Roop and Steve Hendon culminated in the establishment of DxT3 in 2017 in order to create new channels to market for eSimulation’s applications within the Appalachian Basin. We are pleased to have realized this vision with the merger of DxT3 into eSimulation and ControlSoft’s long presence in this region. We look forward to joining the ControlSoft family along with our eSimulation partner,” said Mark Santo, Founder and Chairman of DxT3 Inc.

Additional Information

ControlSoft: www.controlsoftinc.com
eSimulation: www.esimulation.com
DxT3: www.dxt3.com

About ControlSoft

Since 1985, ControlSoft has been advising industrial operating companies on how to optimize plant performance with new and existing assets through improvements in their process control. Our products and services are sought by prominent companies in leading industries. By maintaining a focus on improving plant availability, production efficiency, operational safety and environmental compliance, we continue to grow and expand our technologies and we are honored to be recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for 2016 and 2017.

Media Contact

Claude Flandro
cflandro@controlsoftinc.com
phone 440-443-3900, ext. 111

eSimEvaluator, eSimOptimizer, and eSimGathering are registered trademarks of eSimulation, Inc.
INTUNE and MANTRA are registered trademarks of ControlSoft, Inc.

INTUNE & INTUNE+

INTUNE and INTUNE+ v6.5.0.1 Available

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We are pleased to announce that INTUNE and INTUNE+ v6.5.0.1 are now available. Highlights include:

  • Interface to PI System.
  • Performance Improvements.
  • Additional usability enhancements and bug fixes.

Connecting to a PI System

You can now use INTUNE+ CLPM Software to collect historical and real-time data from your OSIsoft® PI System®. Using the Auto Tune tool, you can interface to your PI System, query data and import queried data into INTUNE software to help optimize your plant performance.

INTUNE+ CLPM Software can analyze this data and make adjustments to process variables that will help your process run in a stable, predictable, and consistent manner, at or close to setpoint.

Performance Improvements

  • New Project Data Format – For improved performance when loading, executing, and saving projects, the INTUNE project format has been modified to a new data format. Projects saved in the new format can be reverted back to the original format.
  • Export/Import Loop Functionality – The Export/Import loop functionality has been updated for better performance.
  • Updates to Find Tags Dialog
  • Updates to Property Configuration Dialog
  • Report Metadata – Report Type properties containing Company information are now editable during runtime.
  • System I/O Reports – System IO reports have been discontinued.

For detailed information, please see the INTUNE Software v6.5.0.1 Release Notes, publication MN109A-EN, included with the software download.

Learn more about INTUNE PID Tuning Tools
Learn more about INTUNE+ CLPM software
INTUNE+ PI System OSIsoft

ControlSoft Joins OSIsoft Partner EcoSphere

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ControlSoft is pleased to announce that we have been accepted into the OSIsoft Partner EcoSphere Program as an Application Partner.

The benefits of this partnership will be realized by customers who choose to interface the ControlSoft INTUNE®+ Control Loop Performance Monitoring (CLPM) with an existing OSIsoft PI System®. ControlSoft is developing software that allows INTUNE+ to connect like a client application at either the PI Archive or PI Asset Framework level. This enhanced method of data exchange between the INTUNE+ and the PI System improves usability and security beyond that available today.

OSIsoft’s PI System captures data from sensors, manufacturing equipment and other devices and turns it into rich, real-time insights for saving energy, improving productivity or developing new products. Over 1,000 leading utilities, 90 percent of the largest oil and gas companies and more than 65 percent of the Fortune 500 industrial companies rely on the PI System to get the most out of their businesses. Worldwide, the PI System manages over 1.6 billion data streams.

“Our customers are demanding that the exchange of information between applications related to their process control system be done in a reliable, fault-tolerant and secure environment” said Joe Patella, General Manager, ControlSoft. Inc. “We believe that the infrastructure provided by the OSIsoft PI System will help ControlSoft meets these demands. For over 30 years our customers have placed their trust in us to deliver process control solutions which optimize their plant’s performance while stabilizing and improving the safety of their operations. We will diligently work to earn that trust and believe that joining the OSIsoft Partner Ecosphere Program is evidence of our continual commitment to Customer Satisfaction.”

Learn more about INTUNE+ CLPM software

OSIsoft, the OSIsoft logotype, and PI System are registered trademarks of OSIsoft, LLC. INTUNE is a registered trademark of ControlSoft Inc.

ControlSoft - Inc. 5000 List 2017

Continued Growth Earns ControlSoft a Spot on the Inc. 5000 2017 List

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For the second year in a row, ControlSoft has been named to Inc. 5000’s List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies.

While making it on the list one time is an extraordinary achievement, making it on the list a second time is something only 1/3 of honorees have been able to do. This list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment — its independent small businesses – and is the most competitive crop in Inc.’s list history.

Abount Inc. 5000
INTUNE & INTUNE+

INTUNE and INTUNE+ v6.3.0.0 Available

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We are pleased to announce that INTUNE and INTUNE+ v6.3.0.0 are now available. Highlights include:

  • Enhanced INSIGHTTM Applications Framework (formerly WebOPC).1
    Enhancements focused on performance improvements and ease of deployment.
  • Improved OPC Client Protection and Performance.
    Improved connectivity and performance for multiple simultaneous OPC clients.
  • Additional usability enhancements and bug fixes.

Additionally, INTUNE+ software includes:

  • Enhanced INSIGHT Mobile App
    INSIGHT mobile app communicates diagnostics on process controllers and final elements for corrective action. Major enhancements are implemented in the Message Center functionality:

    • Improved message interface
    • Filtering and sorting messages by criticality, class, frequency, type and time.
    • Message center now allows I&C users to add comments to any message. Multiple comments can be added to a message, and users can track specific messages for maintenance purposes. Messages and comments can be exported for other reports.
  • Expanded Capability and Increased Performance of Diagnostic Scripts
    Larger and more complex diagnostic scripts are supported with faster and more efficient execution.

1 We plan to release INSIGHT software in the third quarter of 2017. A beta version of the software is currently available.

Learn more about INTUNE PID Tuning Tools
Learn more about INTUNE+ CLPM software
ControlSoft Awarded Weatherhead 2016

ControlSoft Honored with Seventh Weatherhead 100 Award for Growth

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In December 2016, ControlSoft was once again named one of the fastest growing companies in Northeast Ohio. The Weatherhead 100 awards are the premier celebration of Northeast Ohio’s leading companies.

ControlSoft Wins Weatherhead 2016

Weatherhead 100 Award
ControlSoft PID Tuning Pocket Guide

Updated PID Loop Tuning Pocket Guide Now Available

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We’ve updated our PID Loop Tuning Pocket Guide to help you better understand the types of PID loops, how to tune Closed, Open and Cascade loops, and we’ve included parameters for the more common PID controllers used in plants today. By investing in tuning your PID loops (temperature, level, pressure and flow), your control loops will operate efficiently, rather than just being functional.

Get your free copy today